How to Make Orange Slice Ornaments
Are you looking for an easy and inexpensive way to decorate your home for Christmas? I’ve got just the inspiration you need! Dried orange slice ornaments make the cutest Christmas decor and garlands!
days gone by
Do you remember the days of making ornaments and other Christmas decorations? Not everything needed to be store-bought!
When I was a child, each year there were certain projects that we would do. We folded the JCPenny catalog to look like a tree, we gathered greenery from the yard and brought it inside and we stuck whole cloves into oranges to make…..well, I’m not exactly sure what those were called!
Anyway, making handmade ornaments and Christmas decorations has been a tradition that I have carried on.
orange slice ornaments
This year I wanted to use dried orange slices again. A couple of years ago, I started drying orange slices for our Christmas tree. Last year I decided to experiment with those orange slices and I saved them in a container that little critters couldn’t get into.
When I pulled the Christmas decorations out this past weekend, I found the orange slices and they were really dark. Not the pretty orange that they were last year! They are now in the kindling pile!
A three-pound bag of oranges went straight into my Walmart Pickup grocery cart via the app. Love that app btw!! Best way to grocery shop!
UPDATE: Click the button below to see how I slice my oranges now and the new wreath I made with them!
The oranges need to be sliced at about 1/4″ or less. The thinner you slice the quicker they will dry out. The whole bag was sliced up and I had about a cookie sheet and a half of oranges slices.
I set the trays in the oven at 200* for about four hours. Then I turned the oven off and left the door closed. The orange slices stayed in the hot oven overnight.
not dry enough
The next morning they were still a bit moist so I turned the oven back on and let them dry out for about two more hours.
The orange slices stayed in the oven (even though it was off) for a couple of days. I was busy and couldn’t get to them. Plus I wasn’t ready to pull out the Christmas decorations yet!
free potpourri!
Let me also mention that I saved the ends and some of the smaller slices in a dish. The next day, I added a handful of cranberries, freshly grated nutmeg, cloves, and some water, and steeped it on the stovetop. I put the saucepan on the back burner on the lowest setting and within an hour, our home was smelling so cozy and Christmasy!
get your glue gun!
Making the Christmas tree ornaments was super easy. I used twine and a glue gun and that was it!
faux berries
I should mention, the red berries you see on the garland are not real cranberries. After reading a bit about the longevity of fresh cranberries (they only last 7 days!), I decided to use some fake berries I had left over from previous years.
twine hangers
The hangers are made from short pieces of twine that I looped and tied in a knot. These hang on the Christmas tree. Longer sections of twine with the orange slice and berry combination made the perfect natural-looking garland!
orange slice garland
For some garland, I alternated the sizes of the orange slices. I just cut the twine into the length I wanted and glued the orange slices to it! Sooooo easy and just simply pretty!
There were plenty of orange slices left over so into a pretty dish with some pine cones they went! I love simple, hand-made decorations like this. It helps me to get into a cozy mindset.
When you make your own decorations, it brings a sense of custom to your home. Yes, yes, you might see tons of images showing how others have used orange slice ornaments in their homes. But I guarantee they won’t be as pretty as the ones YOU make for YOUR home!
simple supplies
Throw some oranges in your grocery cart, heat up your glue gun, and make your own orange slice ornaments!
Thanks for stopping by for this super easy orange slice ornament inspiration! If you make some of your own garland or ornaments, tag me on Instagram – I would love to see your creations!!
faux gifts
BTW, see that Amazon package near the base of the tree?? That will be wrapped to look like a gift with orange slices and ribbon as the bow!
You might also notice the strand of cranberries hanging from the fireplace mantle – I’m experimenting with drying the cranberries! I’ll let you know how they hold up!
pin all the things!
Pin any of the images in this post and share the ideas with your Pinterest friends!
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Here are a couple of other posts for Christmas inspiration:
Cindy, I love the way you decorated with your dried orange slices! I had wanted to do this for Christmas and never got around to it. Your garland looks so lovely, and I imagine your house smells sooooo good with that simmer pot! Pinned and shared on FB!
Awe, thanks so much for reading and stopping by Crissy!! There’s always next year for orange slices! I even saw some dried grapefruit slices! they were a reddish color and sooo pretty!!
Love the garland! The cranberries add a nice touch!
Thanks Donna! I appreciate you stopping by 😊
How do I keep the slices looking nice? I’ve done a couple of batches and they’ve gotten kind of gross. Not dry enough? Thanks! And Merry Christmas!
Hi Gina! The key is patience when drying the oranges. I just did another batch today and they took 6 hours in the oven! I kept checking the progress until they were dried enough. In fact, I left them in the oven while it cooled off! Hope that helps!
I have thee BEST simmering potpourri.
6-8 dried apple slices
6-8 dried orange peels
1/2tsp whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks (broke in half)
4 whole allspice
1 tsp of Anise seeds or 1 whole star of anise
1 cup water
Bring water to a boil in a small sauce pan, turn heat to low and add remaining ingredients. Simmer on low for hours. Adding water as needed.
Wow, that sounds like a great recipe and combination for simmering potpourri! I will give it a try! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Gotta try this, if for nothing but the aroma!
Yes! The kitchen smells so good when making these 😊😊